Tag: ShopRite LPGA Classic

Ashleigh Buhai’s closing 65 at ShopRite clinches second LPGA title and fourth victory worldwide in less than a year

Ashleigh Buhai, 34, is the oldest player to win on the LPGA this season.

Ashleigh Buhai won for the fourth time worldwide in 10 months when she collected her second LPGA victory at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

The 34-year-old, the oldest player to win on tour this season, played more than 200 tournaments on the LPGA before breaking through with her first title at the 2022 AIG Women’s British Open at Muirfield.

“I had the same feelings as Muirfield except I was able to hold it down the stretch a little bit,” said Buhai, “which was something that … only comes from experience.”

Buhai started off hot with four birdies in her first five holes, including a bomb from off the green on the fifth hole that she called a “hallelujah” putt.

“Those things need to happen for to you win, obviously,” she said.

Buhai birdied the 18th to post her second consecutive 65 and hold the clubhouse lead at 14 under at the Bay Course at Seaview in Galloway, New Jersey. She then waited to see if fellow major champion Hyo Joo Kim could match it. Kim’s eagle chip on the closing par 5 came dangerously close to sending the festivities into overtime. Kim had to instead settle for a tap-in birdie to finish one shot back.

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Overnight leader Dani Holmqvist, who hadn’t made a cut in five starts this season, birdied the last to finish tied for fourth and earn $81,847.

Chiara Noja, 17, tied for 12th in her first LPGA start. The LET winner heads soon to prom back home in Dubai. Noja earned $29,995 in only her second start on American soil.

The German-born player finished runner-up last week at the Belgian Ladies Open and has seven top-15 finishes so far on the LET this season. She’s currently fifth in the 2023 Race to Costa Del Sol rankings for LET Player of the Year.

Buhai, who won the Australian Women’s Open last December and the South African Women’s Open in March, becomes only the second South African with multiple LPGA wins, following Sally Little (15).

“Definitely the best golf I’ve played in my career,” said Buhai, who celebrated on the 18th with husband David, who caddies on tour for Jeongeun Lee6. “I think we have found a good balance. I’m on the older side on tour nowadays, one of the veterans.”

The former prodigy credited much of her success to her work with sports psychologist Duncan McCarthy.

“I really only have one thought with everything,” said Buhai. “I have one thought with the swing, one thought with the chipping, one thought with the putting, and I just tried and do that over and over.

“I know it sounds boring and I know he says, ‘I know this is getting boring,’ but this is what creates good results. So when I put it all together, this is what can happen.”

Chiara Noja, the 17-year-old from Dubai who averages 295 off the tee, making LPGA debut at ShopRite Classic

Noja is fifth in the 2023 Race to Costa Del Sol rankings for LET Player of the Year.

Chiara Noja joins an impressive list of players – Brooke Henderson, Paula Creamer and Lexi Thompson ­­– who made their professional debuts at the ShopRite LPGA Classic as sponsor exemptions.

The 17-year-old won her first LET title last November at age 16 at the Aramco Team Series event in Jeddah, defeating Charley Hull in a two-hole playoff. Noja finished runner-up last week at the Belgian Ladies Open and has seven top-15 finishes so far on the LET this season. She’s currently fifth in the 2023 Race to Costa Del Sol rankings for LET Player of the Year.

Noja, who is still in high school, makes only her second start on U.S. soil this week in New Jersey. She heads next to her native Berlin for the Amundi German Masters and then home to Dubai for prom.

“I actually do enjoy being in this school and being a regular person out there,” she said. “Then coming back to golf and you just feel a lot more refreshed.”

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At 6-feet tall, Noja averages 295 yards off the tee on the Ladies European Tour but says she doesn’t swing full throttle in competition. Her swing speed of 106 mph is plenty, she noted, because hitting the fairway remains priority.

“When I was like 13, I had a bit of back pain because I think I was just swinging it too fast for my frame,” she said, “so we’ve made sure that I’m just swinging healthy and efficiently, and that’s what I’ve done or the last two years.”

Currently No. 94 in the world, Noja won’t turn 18 until next March and would need special permission from the tour to attend LPGA Q-Series later this year.

“I’m hoping I can go to Q-School at the end of the year,” said Noja, “but it’s dependant on my age, so we’ll see what the answer is to that.”

Inbee Park, Jin Young Ko atop the leaderboard at ShopRite LPGA Classic

This would be Jin Young Ko’s third win in five starts

The LPGA is in New Jersey this week for the ShopRite LPGA Classic at Seaview’s Bay course and two of the game’s biggest names are tied for the lead. Inbee Park and Jin Young Ko both sit at 11 under, two shots clear of the next challenger.

Park had it going on the greens, carding seven birdies, along with one bogey, for a 6-under 65. She’s looking for her first win since late March 2021, despite having six top-10 finishes during that stretch.

Ko shot the same score as Park on Saturday, but she did it without carding a bogey. A flawless 65 has put her in position to win for the third time in five starts. Her most recent triumph came at the Cambia Portland Classic just a few weeks ago.

(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

Other big names in the mix include 2021 ANA Inspiration champion Patty Tavatanakit (9 under, 3rd), 13-time LPGA winner Stacy Lewis (-6, T-10), 10-time winner Brooke Henderson (6 under, T-10), Maria Fassi (5 under, T-16), and 2021 U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso (5 under, T-16).

For a full leaderboard, click here.

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Cheyenne Knight on the grueling mental aspect of the LPGA: ‘Bad golf is never fun’

Exhaustion that often comes from competing on the world’s largest stages has become a focal point.

Cheyenne Knight isn’t afraid to admit that life on the LPGA tour hasn’t been exactly perfect of late where she’s concerned.

After missing just three cuts during the entire 2020 season, Knight came to the Shoprite LPGA Classic at Seaview in Galloway, New Jersey, having missed the cut in each of her last three events — the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, Cambia Portland Classic and AIG Women’s British Open. She’s now missed the cut 11 times in 2021 and knew she was in need of a reboot.

A detour to see her mental coach has brought the reset she needed — after one round this week, she’s feeling like her old self again and a breezy 67 has her just two shots behind leader So Yeon Ryu.

“It’s just a constant mindset you have to have,” the three-time Alabama All-American and 2017 SEC Player of the Year said after her round. “I was just not enjoying myself. Bad golf is never fun.

“But like I’ve been putting in some good work with my coach, because I struggled a lot this summer. I was missing it kind of both ways. So we’ve been working hard to just like get back to how I play golf, which is really straight, consistent.”

Of course, mental exhaustion that often comes from competing on the world’s largest stages has become a focal point in recent months as players in multiple sports — Naomi Osaka, for example — have talked openly about the strain.

Cheyenne Knight reacts after winning the Volunteers of America Classic golf tournament at the Old American Golf Club on October 6, 2019, in The Colony, Texas. (Chuck Burton/Getty Images)

Knight knew she wasn’t feeling right. She reached out to get some focus.

“It’s easy to let the hard times kind of get you down. But just know that I’m putting in work, especially a lot on the mental side, visualizing my shot well, just playing the shot at hand, and not let my emotions affect me so much on the golf course,” Knight said. “And it-is-what-it-is attitude. So I did a good job of that today.

“It’s a constant effort. I mean, everything is good. You’re happy when you’re playing well. It’s all fine. But when you’re not playing well it’s hard because we do this all — I mean, I was actually talking about this with someone yesterday,” Knight said. “You go from in college you don’t play that many events a year, and out here it’s hard when it’s week after week after week and you’re struggling a little bit.

“But just look how far I’ve come and just try to enjoy it more, because I play the best when I’m having fun or not so hard on myself.”

Of course, Knight has a victory under her belt — the 2019 Volunteers of America Classic — and at the age of 23 she knows these struggles can pay off over the course of a career.

“I’ve won on tour before,” she said. “I feel like the hard times are necessary, even though you don’t want to go through them. My faith has helped me a lot, because like I don’t know why I’m like going through all this stuff.

“But it’s to make me stronger and a better player and a better person. It’s hard to tell yourself that, but it’s the truth. Just to keep believing that, keep working hard, being honest with yourself, and just like checking in with yourself mentally to make sure you still play the game for a reason.”

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NBC Sports to make history with all-women broadcast team for ShopRite LPGA Classic in October

The all-women team will call the ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey.

NBC Sports will make U.S. television history this fall.

On Monday the network announced it will utilize an all-women broadcast team to call the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Golf Channel, Oct. 1-3, at Seaview’s Bay Course in Galloway, New Jersey.

Cara Banks will take the play-by-play duties with Judy Rankin and Paige Mackenzie as analysts while Karen Stupples and Kay Cockerill will serve as on-course reporters. Longtime producer Beth Hutter, who has produced LPGA coverage for more than 15 years, will call the shots behind the scenes.

“We’re thrilled to assemble this incredibly accomplished group of women for our broadcast of the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Golf Channel,” said Molly Solomon, executive producer for NBC Olympics and Golf Channel. “Our NBC Sports team features talented women at all levels – both on-camera and behind-the-scenes – who are essential to making our coverage a success on every platform, and we’re honored to celebrate their work as part of this broadcast.”

Earlier this year former Golf Channel employee Lisa Cornwell caused a stir when she aired out allegations of mistreatment by Golf Channel executives on the No Laying Up podcast, which led to a Washington Post report where women who worked at the network said sexism fuels a “boys’ club” culture.

In March of 2020 NBC Sports featured the first all-women broadcast for an NHL game. Earlier this year, Rene Hatlelid then became the first woman to produce the Indianapolis 500 on NBC. Lindsay Schanzer also became the first woman to produce a Triple Crown race, leading NBC Sports’ Preakness and Belmont Stakes productions on NBC.

Mel Reid dishes on a rather expensive celebration as she settles in for KPMG Women’s PGA

Mel Reid tees it up at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship this week an LPGA winner, and with her pockets a bit lighter from an LPGA fine.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Mel Reid can’t say exactly how many beers fit into the ShopRite LPGA Classic trophy.

“That’s what got me in trouble,” she said, speaking of the fine she received from the LPGA for breaking COVID-19 protocol.

When asked if the trophy was dry in the morning, Reid confirmed.

“Dez finished that off very quickly,” she said, referring to caddie Ryan Desveaux.

With a major this week, it was a relatively low-key celebration with her partner and Desveaux. She’ll have a proper party at some point down the road.

This week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club gives players a second consecutive week of play on a Donald Ross design. Reid, who tied for third last year at the KPMG at Hazeltine, went out for nine holes on Tuesday afternoon feeling a bit different.

“I just feel like my mindset has now shifted,” she said, “like OK, what do we need to do to win this week?”

In previous weeks, a top 20 or 30 would have been considered a good result. Now that she’s a winner on the LPGA, however, that’s not enough to satisfy the 33-year-old Brit.

Statistically speaking, Reid said, players don’t often fare well after a big win. She’s doing what she can to recover as quickly as possible from the hype and drain of realizing a dream.

Reid’s instructor, Jorge Parada, has plenty of experience at Aronimink and believes that the big track sets up nicely for Reid. It’s a ball-strikers’ course, and their goal has long been for Reid to rank inside the top 15 on tour in greens in regulation. She’s currently 22nd.

“What we always talk about is I don’t want you to be a player who only wins once,” said Parada. “I want you to be a player who wins, finishes top 10 on a decent week and top 25 on a bad week.”

While Reid is a six-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, getting it done on American soil brought a huge sense of relief.

“Get little bit of a chip off my shoulders,” she said. “People (can) stop asking me when I’m going to win.

“For people who didn’t think I could do it, it’s nice to kind of stick my finger up at them. I enjoy that a lot as well.”

Mel Reid enjoys ‘life-changing experience’ in winning ShopRite LPGA Classic

Reid, 33, broke through for her first LPGA victory at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, closing with a 67 to edge Jennifer Kupcho by two strokes.

Winning on the LPGA, Mel Reid said, would be a life-changing experience. Now she can finally find out exactly what that means.

Reid, 33, broke through for her first LPGA victory at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, closing with a 67 to edge Jennifer Kupcho by two strokes.

“After Portland, I wanted to redeem myself,” said Reid of the chance she let slip by two weeks ago.

A six-time winner on the Ladies European Tour and three-time Solheim Cup player (2011, 2015 and 2017), Reid trailed by one after back-to-back bogeys early on in the final round at the ShopRite but hit the gas pedal with four birdies in the span of five holes.

Former Solheim Cup teammate and vice captain Suzann Pettersen tweeted “C’mon Mel, finish like a champion!” as the Englishwoman hit the stretch with a four-stroke lead.

Both Jennifer Song and Kupcho looked like they might ace the 107-yard par-3 17th. They each posted birdie to Reid’s bogey on the penultimate hole to cut Reid’s lead to two with the reachable par-5 18th left to play.

ShopRite LPGA Classic: Leaderboard

A gutsy second shot from the rough to 15 feet on the 72nd hole left Reid with three putts to claim her first victory.

“I just want to call my dad, honestly,” said a happy Reid, who tragically lost her mother Joy in a car crash in Germany eight years ago.

A number of caddies and players rushed the 18th green to drench Reid with champagne, showing only a glimpse of how popular Reid’s victory is not only on the LPGA, but worldwide.

Two weeks ago, Reid slept on the overnight lead at the Portland LPGA Classic only to stumble in with a final-round 74 to take a share of fifth. Compatriot Georgia Hall went on to win in a playoff.

“I kind of felt like I almost gave it to Georgia,” said Reid, who in her talks with sports psychologist Howard Falco determined that she rushed things a bit that Sunday and hit shots she wasn’t comfortable with.

This time around, Reid looked fully in control at the Bay Course at Seaview.

Mel Reid of England reacts after putting out on the third green during the final round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer on the Bay Course at Seaview Hotel and Golf Club on October 04, 2020 in Galloway, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images)

Now in her fourth season on the LPGA, Reid is the ninth English player to win on the LPGA. It’s the first time since 1996 that English players won in back-to-back events (Trish Johnson and Caroline Pierce).

In 2019, Reid served as a vice captain for Catriona Matthew at the Solheim Cup at Gleneagles, having narrowly missed out on a spot on the team.

Ranked 74th heading into the ShopRite, Reid’s 2020 goals included a victory on the LPGA and a top-50 ranking. Now she’s not only in strong position for the 2021 Solheim, but in the running for the Summer Olympics too.

Reid began working with Falco in August, the week before the AIG Women’s British Open and immediately felt comfortable, opening up about deep-rooted wounds she’d been reluctant to address. The journey of better understanding her self-worth paid off quickly.

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Nasa Hataoka setting the pace at Shoprite LPGA Classic

Nasa Hataoka is the player they’re all chasing at Seaview Resort in Galloway, New Jersey, for the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Nasa Hataoka would very much like to follow in the footsteps of Ai Miyazato this week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Hataoka, the 21-year-old with three LPGA titles in the past two years, counts the now-retired Miyazato, a fellow Japaneses player, among women she admires in this game.

When Miyazato won the 2010 ShopRite LPGA Classic, it lifted her to the No. 1 position in the world.

“I looked up to her,” Hataoka said. “She was a player I felt like that played mostly in the U.S. instead of played in Japan. She’s obviously won here, and I feel like maybe it will be a chance for another Japanese player to win this tournament.”

Hataoka, at No. 8 in the Rolex Rankings, isn’t in position to claim the top spot in the rankings even if she does turn a 36-hole lead into a victory on Sunday.

ShopRite LPGA Classic: Leaderboard

“I’ll definitely get closer,” she noted.

But Hataoka is the player they’re all chasing at Seaview Resort in Galloway, New Jersey, after her second-round 4-under 67 moved her to 11 under and gave her a one-shot lead over Mel Reid and Mi Hyang Lee.

In two rounds at Seavew, Hataoka has been nothing if not consistent. She has made just two bogeys, her second one coming Friday at the par-4 second hole. She matched that with five birdies. Hataoka felt the hole locations were much more difficult for the second round.

“I wasn’t striking the ball as well as yesterday, but I was able to convert my birdie chances where I wanted to and that was good,” she said.

Reid was the 54-hole leader at the Cambia Portland Classic two weeks ago and ultimately finished tied for fifth. Lee has won twice on this tour and will try to draw on them going into the weekend. Patience will be key.

“Still I have two days left and I’m just – I like to do – try to do my best,” she said. “I don’t want to think any golf score. Just I want to do my golf. Yeah, that’s my goal.”

Celine Boutier and Amy Alson are tied for fourth, a shot back at 9 under. A group of four players tied for sixth another shot back includes Portland winner Georgia Hall as well as Jennifer Kupcho.

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Lauren Stephenson, Mi Hyang Lee shoot 63 to take early lead at ShopRite LPGA Classic

Lauren Stephenson’s best round on the LPGA was buoyed by a hole-out for eagle on the 14th hole from the rough.

A record day for Lauren Stephenson put the former Alabama standout atop the board at the ShopRite LPGA Classic at 8-under 63 alongside South Korea’s Mi Hyang Lee. Stephenson’s best round on the LPGA was buoyed by a hole-out for eagle on the 14th hole from the rough.

“We had no idea,” said Stephenson, who couldn’t see the ball go in after she hit wedge from 137 yards. “I didn’t want to get excited and then it be over the green.”

Lee’s previous best was a 62 in the first round of the 2016 Founders Cup.

“I don’t want to change anything,” said Lee, a two-time winner on the LPGA, “and I don’t want to think about anymore bigger than just right now.”

The ShopRite was extended to 72 holes this year for only the second time in tournament history. Nasa Hataoka and Ryann O’Toole are one shot back in a tie for third while Jennifer Song is alone at 6 under.

Brittany Altomare got off to a rip-roaring start, carding a 28 on the front nine. She dunked her tee shot on the par-3 17th for an ace, hitting a wedge from 108 yards.

“It made a loud noise,” she said. “It hit the pin, and usually when it does that I feel like it could go anywhere, but then it disappeared, so I guess that was good.”

ShopRite LPGA Classic: Leaderboard

Momentum stalled on the back nine, however, as she carded eight pars and one bogey to finish at 5 under for the day.

Lexi Thompson, the 2019 champion, shot 4 under. Sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda shot matching 68s and are five back.

While the rest of the LPGA took last week off, Stephenson teed it up on the Symetra Tour finishing tied for 17th. On her way to the event in Longwood, Florida, she stopped by to see her coach.

“We just worked on tempo and just honing my swing in a little bit,” she said. “It wasn’t too far off. Lucky since I hadn’t been hitting it as well, that kind of upped my short game. It was a blessing in disguise, because now I feel like I’ve gained a lot of confidence putting. Now my ball-striking is really good. Helped me today.”

Stephenson, 23, now in her second year on the LPGA tied for eighth in her first tournament as an LPGA pro, the ISPS Handa Vic Open, in February 2019.

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While Sebastian Korda enjoys career week at French Open, sisters Nelly and Jessica roll at ShopRite LPGA Classic

While Sebastian Korda is enjoying a career week at the French Open, his sisters Nelly and Jessica are rolling at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Sisters Nelly Korda and Jessica Korda shot matching 68s in the opening round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic and will now turn their attention to younger brother Sebastian, who has advanced to the third round of the French Open.

Sebastian, a qualifier in Paris who made his Grand Slam debut this summer at the U.S. Open, takes on Pedro Martinez Friday at 6:30 a.m. ET.

“Honestly, it’s been awesome,” said Nelly. “Jess and I have been waking up early for every single one of his matches.”

Sebastian, 20, earned his first career tour level match victory at Roland Garros, matching his father’s feat at the same venue in 1988 at the same age. Sebastian, known as Sebi, became the youngest American to reach the third round in Paris since 18-year-old Andy Roddick in 2001.

ShopRite LPGA Classic: Leaderboard | Five things to know

“I’m over the moon,” the 213th-ranked Sebastian told the Herald Tribune after defeating veteran John Isner in the second round.

Both Nelly and Jessica are gearing up for their own major, with the KPMG Women’s PGA scheduled for next week just outside Philadelphia. Their parents didn’t travel to France, planning instead to attend the KPMG.

“But little did we know we can’t have guests,” said Nelly of next week’s COVID-19 restrictions. It was the same policy for the year’s first major at Royal Troon back in August.

Nelly started out with bogeys on three of the first hour holes Thursday but turned things around with a hole-out for eagle on the eighth hole followed by a birdie. She played the last 14 holes in 6 under.

“Coming from Florida, I’m not used (Poa annua), said Nelly. “I have a lot of wedges in and I have to play for a longer shot because it just rips back with spin. Like honestly, on one hole I had 20 yard of rip-back.”

Nelly, currently No. 2 in the world, came close to winning her first major title last month at the ANA Inspiration, where she lost in a playoff to Mirim Lee.

When asked if the family text thread is getting a lot of action this week watching Sebi’s career week, Nelly smiled.

“Oh yeah,” she said, “it’s a lot of LFG, LFG, LFG.”

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